Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Thursday, launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that the ruling party was running on the basis of "lies and propaganda".
Akhilesh Yadav, who was unanimously elected SP chief for the third consecutive time, alleged that the BJP and its machinery snatched power from the SP as it knew if it lost power in Uttar Pradesh it would also lose power in Delhi.
"This (BJP) government is not made by the people; even people don't know how it (BJP) formed the government again. The BJP and its machinery snatched away the government from the SP because it knew if it lost power in UP it would lose power in Delhi also," he said.
"Those who know about Hitler's time would know that there used to be a propaganda minister in his government. There was only one propaganda minister, but here if we see the work of the BJP, it seems that the whole party is running on the basis of lies and propaganda," he said.
Akhilesh further targeted the BJP, saying that the party was against farmers. “By introducing black farm laws, the BJP has proved that it is against farmers. Hundreds of farmers lost their lives and farm loans were not waived. If you are bringing industries to Gujarat then why can't you bring them to states like UP and Bihar?” the SP chief questioned.
"Why is there so much bias against UP? This state has made your government and you are showing your bias against this state now," he said.
Akhilesh Yadav also alleged that the Election Commission "deliberately" reduced the votes of Yadavs and Muslims by 20,000 in almost every assembly seat on the "diktat" of the BJP and its allies.
"If a probe is conducted, it will be found that the names of many people were removed (electoral rolls)," the SP chief said.
The SP chief called upon party cadre to be ready to fill up jails. Quoting Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav), Akhilesh said this was the only way out when someone was denied justice.
"Samajwadi people should be ready to fill up jails as the time has come. Even Netaji had said that when you are not getting justice then this is the only way out," Akhilesh Yadav said as he addressed the party workers at the event.
Earlier, the decision to elect Akhilesh Yadav as national president of the SP was taken unanimously at the national convention of the party being held at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan in Lucknow.
On getting re-elected for the third consecutive time, Akhilesh Yadav said, "This is not just a post, you have given me a huge responsibility. This responsibility has been given to me at a time when our constitution is in danger. I assure you that I will prove my worth for the post which you people have elected me to. Even if I have to work day and night for this responsibility, I will not hesitate. We samajwadi people have to work hard for the next five years to make a new history."
Akhilesh Yadav was elected SP president for the first time in Lucknow on January 1, 2017, replacing party founder and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. The second time, Akhilesh was unanimously re-elected as the national president of the party on October 5, 2017 in the national convention held in Agra
The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday said that though recent poll results were not favourable for the party, it had been proved that only the SP could defeat the ruling BJP in UP.
Yadav said the SP had worked hard to win the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls held earlier in the year, but "those in power used every trick, misused the official machinery and we did not succeed".
The SP had contested the assembly polls this year in an alliance with smaller parties but failed to stop the march of the BJP. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, political circles are abuzz about the possibilities of unity among the opposition parties on the initiative of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
